Topeka, KS : Two killed in Reno County crash identified on Friday, November 11th 2016
Two Hutchinson men killed in a high-speed crash on U.S. 50 Friday during a law enforcement pursuit had shoplifted a large amount of merchandise from the Newton Wal-Mart and were driving a vehicle displaying a stolen tag, said Newton Police Chief Eric Murphy.
The pair died after the driver of the vehicle, identified as Wendell Lue Hicks III, 27, who was wanted as a parole absconder, attempted to avoid “stop sticks” placed in the highway by law enforcement and lost control of his 1997 Pontiac Grand Prix, slamming head-on into a semi truck stopped on the highway shoulder.
Also killed was Lee Francis Billinger, 48.
Friday’s crash was the third fatality accident in Reno County this month, with five people dead.
“This was an unfortunate tragedy that happened today, but it was based on decisions the suspect driving the red car made,” Murphy said. “We do have policies in place for high-speed pursuits. We will be looking at the policy and what happened today to make sure the policy was followed.”
The incident began about 8:50 a.m. when three people – the two men and a woman – attempted to check out of the Newton Wal-Mart with two carts full of merchandise through a self-check lane.
“They attempted to pay for the merchandise with a credit card, but it was declined,” Murphy said. “Then they walked out of the store with part of the merchandise. A store employee caught them outside the store and was able to recover some of the stuff, but they still left with about $600 worth of property.”
Murphy did not know what that merchandise consisted of.
The store employee watched the three run to two different cars in the parking lot and leave. A Newton Police officer responding pulled in behind the Pontiac as it headed westbound on U.S. 50.
“This was not a simple shoplifting,” Murphy said. “This was an organized theft thing. It was not someone stealing a soda and candy bar. It was three individuals who came to the store in two separate cars.”
The officer behind the Pontiac checked the plate and determined it was a stolen tag.
“A lot of times when the tag is stolen, the vehicle is also stolen,” Murphy said. “Those were more factors making this more than a shoplifting. They were trying to hide their identity with a stolen tag.”
The officer activated his lights at South Meridian to initiate a stop, but the car took off. A pair of Harvey County deputies joined the pursuit and, as it approached Reno County, Harvey County emergency dispatch contacted Reno County and agencies in Reno County became involved. Officials also called out an airplane to track the vehicle from the air.
“It was all highway driving and traffic at the time was not real heavy,” Murphy said. “That’s one of the factors the officer takes into consideration when deciding to pursue or not, the amount and volume of vehicle and pedestrian traffic.”
As the chase approached Reno County, the Harvey County officers backed off from the pursuit, Murphy said.
During the chase, which covered nearly 24 miles in less than 18 minutes, the fleeing vehicle drove at speeds from 80 to 115 mph, Murphy said.
In Reno County, officers attempted to set up a roadblock and a South Hutchinson Police officer placed “stop sticks,” which are devices that puncture tires so they slowly deflate, in the center of U.S. 50 just before the intersection with Buhler Road.
“The individual chose to drive around the stop sticks onto the shoulder and when he came back up on the road he lost control and slid sideways into the stopped semi,” Murphy said.
The eastbound semi, which the officers setting up the roadblock stopped for their safety, was parked on the south shoulder. The driver of the 2016 Kenworth truck, Russell Craven, 55, of Sterling, was not injured, but was transported to the hospital to be checked because of high blood pressure, a Kansas Highway Patrol investigator reported.
The stop sticks would likely not have caused the car to lose control, Murphy said, because they result in a controlled deflation of the tires.
The second vehicle involved in the shoplifting, a green Ford Taurus, was located late Friday morning in Hutchinson, though authorities have not yet found the female driver. Murphy said he believes the two men who died were also from Hutchinson.
Officials shut down several miles of U.S. 50 for hours while a Kansas Highway Patrol investigation team charted the crash. The bodies were removed after that was completed, after 1 p.m.
Hutchinson Police and Reno County District Court records show Billinger and a 40-year-old woman, both living at 336 S, Lorraine, were arrested Oct. 29 for distribution of methamphetamine. Billinger was scheduled to appear on the Nov. 30 waiver docket.
Hicks, convicted for drug possession last year and aggravated battery in 2010, had an outstanding warrant for violating his probation and was listed by the Kansas Department of Corrections as parole absconder.
Source :
Two killed in Reno County crash identified